My Home and Family Topics

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

As a homeowner, you are always looking for ways to increase the value of your home. It doesn't matter whether you're going to sell in the very near future or can't imagine ever leaving, value is important. One of the best ways to add value to your property is to install a water feature in your yard.

Many people used to just settle for a hot tub or swimming pool, but now water is more of a center of relaxation. Things like water falls, koi ponds, intricate birdbaths, and other great water features are becoming more common and desirable. Having one in your yard can add a lot of value to your home!

There are various ways to go about getting a water feature. You can go to a garden store or home improvement center and buy one, but the most value comes from features that are unique. Custom designs are always a good bet if you want to set your property apart from others'.

The first thing you need to do is choose the kind of water feature you want. There are many different choices and varying degrees of maintenance that come along with them. You need to figure out whether you want the splish-splash noise of a waterfall or the stillness of a pond. You could even have a combination of both.

You should to pay attention to what you want for yourself as well as what will increase the perception of value in the eyes of others. For example, if you have a large, lovely home that draws eyes for its architectural beauty, but you add a small and unnoticeable pond it isn't likely to increase the value or even be noticed! If your home is small and quaint but you add a large and overbearing water feature the same problem can happen.

You need to give it a lot of thought before adding the feature to your home. You may even want to speak to a professional landscaper, or a company that specializes in water features. Be prepared to explain your reasons for having a water feature and what you hope to get out of having one.

Be warned, you might have heard that water features can actually decrease value! This has been the case in the past because they had a reputation of being hard to care for and unreliable. These days you can make sure they are relatively maintenance free and well designed.

If you are getting ready to sell your home make sure the water feature is kid friendly, easy to maintain, and appropriate for the rest of your landscaping and decor. You should also make a big point of telling the potential new owners how it blocks out unwanted neighborhood noise. They'll love that!

Getting a water feature can certainly add a lot of value to your home. As long as you plan ahead you'll have a great new fixture in your eyes that will be the envy of the neighborhood

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Mattresses are good for the calm and comfortable night. Every one wants comfort to give peace in the mind.

It is advisable to select the proper mattress for good sleep. There are various types of mattresses available in the market. According to your budget, you can select the mattresses for your calm.

1. There are various mattresses companies offers variety of mattresses depends on the materials. You must have to visit the local mattresses stores to get the idea about the types and quality of mattresses available. You must have also check the prices of the mattresses.

2. You must have to see that which types of mattress give more comfort and best fitted to your budget too.

3. There are various types of mattresses available like coil mattresses, latex mattresses, rubber mattresses, soft mattresses, orthopedic mattresses and many other types of mattresses are available in the market.

4. People usually prefer to purchase the mattresses which gives comfort and easy. There are many famous brands of mattresses are available in the local market.

5. You also need to see that the mattresses are fit into your bed. It is advisable to select the bed with your bed partner's comfort too.

There are various companies' offers different types of mattresses with heavy discount. You must have to select the mattresses of your choice. The mattress is like one time purchase. It is better to spend some time in the mattresses shop and get the proper mattresses of your choice. It is advisable to select the mattresses runs for longer time.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Is your office furniture an employee retention strategy? Office furniture used to be boringly functional  mission brown desks matched with dull black fabric chairs. But office furniture has been undergoing a quiet revolution in the past few years. Businesses keen to attract and retain the best staff have been looking to refurbishing their offices to bring in new designs, colours and patterns. "Smart employers know that a large component of employee productivity is the work environment in which they work. Attractive and functional office furniture is part of boosting productivity" said Nardiah Dougherty from Furniture Systems. "If you provide employees with office furniture that is dated, does not have adequate storage and is cumbersome then you are not doing yourself any favours in the human resources department. Many Generation X and Y employees pay close attention to the office environment in which they work."

"Some of my tips for ensuring your office furniture is helping you retain your employees are to ensure you have adequate attractive spaces created for both informal and formal meetings. With the increase in open-plan offices to reduce costs, you need sleek modern designs that are modular and easy to configure"said Nardiah. "You also need to look beyond the traditional boring blue or grey cubicles. Colours and fabrics that are bright and cheerful will help maintain the energy of your employees during the day. Don't be afraid to use colour in your office furniture. Quirky or fun designs for your chairs or tables add a bit of spice to break-out areas and encourage creativity."

"Lighting is another area to consider to boost employee productivity, with our negative ion generating desk lamp proving quite popular in some offices." So if you are looking for a way to attract and retain good employees, perhaps it is time to retire your old office furniture and upgrade to more modern designs.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Learning how to make Mexican paper flowers such as those that you see in some of the stores around town or on some of the television shows on the T.V. is not as hard as you might think. Although after I was involved in a devastating car accident a while ago, and had been bed ridden for many months with no transportation, I thought that learning to make these and other paper flowers might be something difficult for me because of no prior interest. I began looking for alternative activities to get involved in (besides watching television!) and I eventually discovered how interesting and gratifying making Mexican paper flowers can be.

Making Mexican paper flowers gave me an outlet of how to express myself through creativity. Not only is it an inexpensive hobby, but it also is very relaxing and when you finally have a finished product it is exceptionally rewarding. I thought that it would only be an activity I would perform during my recuperation period, but I was wrong. Making these Mexican paper flowers has now become one of my favorite pass times.

There are only a few items that are needed to make a Mexican paper flower. Tissue paper or crepe paper, pipe cleaner, twisty wire tie, scissors, ruler, coloring markers, perfume, and an imagination. Most of these items can be found in your kitchen cabinets, tool drawer or at the local store. Then once you have all of the needed items and hardware for making those Mexican paper flowers the fun begins.

Here is your first lesson learning how to make Mexican paper flowers:

1) First, you want to make the leaves, so you cut a pile of 6 to 10 pieces of paper 10 inches wides, and 14-20 inches long.

2) Next, you want to make approximately 1 inch folds in the layers (accordion style).

3) Then you need to tie the middle or the accordion with a twisty wire tie. Then you get to use your creative mind and trim all the edges with your scissors.

4) Then, start at the outside of the flower and start to bend each piece of tissue paper in half (be very gentle with this step).

5) The last step is use the pipe cleaner for the stem of your festive Mexican paper flower and as a special additive you can also spray that Mexican paper flower with perfume to make it perfect.

A situation arose in my own life where friends of my family commented on how original and gorgeous the Mexican flowers I made were. This made me feel extremely good inside. I then began to explain how easy and inexpensive it was to do and the enjoyment I felt while doing it. Later that year, my family and I were at their house and sure enough they had a vase full of Mexican paper flowers displayed in the middle of their dining room table.

Once you actually design and create a Mexican paper flower you will see how much fun and relaxing it is. It can become quite an addiction because you always think of different shapes, colors, or sizes to make the flowers depending on the mood your in that day.

Even if making Mexican paper flowers is not your preferred style, making other types of flower crafts such as paper flowers or origami flowers might be. Discover what countless other people have who have enriched their lives creating beautiful paper flowers either for a living, as a regular hobby or even just as a skill in their arsenal to expand their minds. Don't delay and get started making beautiful and gratifying paper flowers today!

Now you should definitely not have to go to the end of the Earth to find more info about How to Make Mexican Paper Flowers & other kinds of paper flowers. No doubt you could also benefit from visual aid. Erich invites you to visit his free site with images, instructions, videos and more plus this other web site on How to Make Origami Flowers which is his #1 recommended resource.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Just like cooking food, the kitchen sometimes needs to be modified. Food tastes even better when you add a little more spice and reduce a little on salt. The kitchen too needs some redesigning to fit in your requirements. Transforming your cozy kitchen into something even cozier can make it function in such a way where you can cook delicious dishes. The kitchen is probably the only place in the house where most plans, conversations, and even bickering take place. It has witnessed the rise and fall of relationships. It has been thrashed by flying plates and pounded by knives. Now it is time to take a good look at it. And the window boxes by the window sink can need repainting.

When your kitchen has seen better days, it is time to bring together some elements to make it into a place where you can have fun cooking up yummy dishes. Planning to rebuild your kitchen can be daunting, and there's the cost to consider. Even if you have to do it yourself, you still have to go through some process for your desire to come out perfect. You need to sit down and draft up a design. Take time because a good time table can play a major role in the success of your kitchen remodeling project.

After you have drawn a sketch of how you want your kitchen to turn into, the next stage is taking measurements. In case you need to hire a professional, you just have to know the correct measurements and dimensions of your kitchen. You start either measuring the walls, corner to corner, from trim edge to rim edge, from floor to windowsill and more. The window boxes by the window should also fit in to your new design. Painting window boxes can add color to the window. Then you need to double check all the measurements you have done. Otherwise there will be a mess with misfits. The last call will be for your favorite merchant for an appointment with their qualified person in the kitchen design department. Hand them the measurements and your list of priorities.

When the qualified persons have gotten your list leave the redesigning with them and wait and hope for the results. But in the event that you are trying to save on cost and you decided to do it yourself be ready for a tough job ahead. Think about how much you can do, the necessary tools, the bankroll and how much time you can spare for the project. Remodeling your kitchen can cook up a lot of your time. It is no laughing matter the effort you have to exert to come up with your wish list which includes the window boxes by the sink. The empty window boxes need to be filled up.

If you do it yourself, you will need some help from friends and other helpers. But can they fit in their time to help you? Going ahead head on without the right preparation can crash you down with great impact. So plan well. In doing it yourself, you can expect when the project is done there is that enormous feeling of being proud of yourself. Self-satisfaction is second to none. Financially and emotionally, your gains are great. Your kitchen remodeling project is something you will cherish. Your window boxes are in bloom and the empty window boxes are filled what more can you ask for.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Liz wanted to enter the mess hall. All the other kids were already seated in groups, munching their lunch, chatting happily. Liz was afraid that people would look at her, so she hung outside, trying to muster the courage to enter. But her heart raced inside her rib cage, her palms sweated and she felt a warm blush cover her face. So she left.

Shyness during childhood years.

Shy children like Liz suffer from 'approach avoidance conflict. It means that they do want to approach others, but at the same time, are too afraid to do so. As a result, the shy child may have bad approach skills, lower social skills and feel that everything they say is dull or stupid. Hence, shy children may have low results in tests that require face-to-face interactions, and may be perceived as less intelligent than they are due to their fear of talking. Thus, a vicious cycle may begin that only enhances the low-self esteem of the shy child. During later childhood and adolescence shyness becomes increasingly associated with loneliness, depression, social anxiety, and low self-worth.

The shy ones may feel tiny in relation to others, or wish to disappear all together.

Mitch's switching into objects in "The Two Tuba Switch" is a way to stretch shyness a bit to make a point.

Shyness - nature or nurture? Both.

Shyness runs in families. About one fifth of the babies are born with a tendency for shyness.

Shyness may be caused by any single or repeated incidents that makes us feel uncomfortable or unworthy (new day in preschool /school, peer mockery, bullying, etc).

Modern age factors.

Increased crime which forces children off the streets, smaller families, increasing use of computers, video games, and TV as a form of non-human means for fun and play. These changes which may also be a convenient for a shy person may also enhance his shyness.

How to improve matters in a nutshell?

Parents must be supportive of their child's temperament helping them feel better about themselves. At the same time, they must not be over protective by helping the child engage in successful social activity. Mutual activities such as reading together Children's educational books about shy children and how they cope is another good way.

Parents must never ever, let their own childhood memories and frustrations interfere and get in the way! Love your children for what they are.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Almost identical to a home wheelchair lift, a chair stair lift is similar in the function and the job it performs. Unlike an elevator it is not a very complex machine. Stair lifts are installed in your stairway and typically consists of five main components. These include the track, drive, chair, controls, and power systems. Each has an important role in delivering you or your loved one from floor to floor.

Track The track is what the lift moves up and down on. The simplest and least expensive designs are straight. Tracks are available for a curved stairs and tend to be more expensive.

Drive The drive is what transfers the movement of the motor to move the chair lifting or lowering you to your destination. The most popular today is rack and pinion drives. Cable or screw drives are older technology and may be available as well.

Chair In order to make the trip you've got to have a place to sit. Chairs on a stair lift may swivel so you can safely get on at either landing. The two types that swivel will turn 90 or 180 degrees. On some models the track may be long enough that a swiveling chair may not be needed. All chairs will include a footrest but a powered folding footrest may also be an option.

Controls You need some type of control to make your lift move. Many use a hand held wired remote. Wireless remotes are becoming more popular and depending on your situation may be more appropriate for your use.

Power Your stairlift will require electricity to make the trip up or down the track. There are three types of power sources. The most popular and least complicated is a battery pack located in the chair/motor assembly. The batteries are charged from a charging station located at either end of the track which are plugged into the nearest AC outlet.

The other two types consist of a tethered cord that moves along with the chair/motor assembly. One type has batteries but is constantly charged. The other type relies solely on the AC power. The downfall to either of these is the tethered cable. It is constantly winding and unwinding and can eventually fail causing problems and requiring repair service.

Although each manufacturers stair-lift vary slightly you will find that they have these common features. Each will have their own design requirements for each style of staircase. Each will have literature or phone numbers available discussing what options are available to you and what dimensions are required in your stairway.

Stone Dupree has been active in repairing and maintaining medical devices in the hospital and clinical environment for nearly twenty years. He loves to share tips from his experiences with others through his websites. Visit http://www.stairliftinfo.info to learn more about straight stair lifts and other lifts for the home. You'll find many tips and advice on finding and purchasing a stair lift for your home.